Running Away
by OnyxFauxo'Doom
Summary: Romy. Gambit and Rogue meet as children. Rogue ran away to Mystic and Remy ran away to the X-Men. Now, 10 years later, they meet in battle not recogninzing each other.
1. Kinetic Fear

"Please stop! Just leave us alone!" the young boy pleaded with a strong Cajun accent as he tried to defend 6 children from the advancing enemy. The enemy was a tall man of about 30 years of age. He had a rugged look, in fact he looked like a monster. With long dirty blond fur and a feral smile plastered on his face, the monster stuck out his claws to the young boy who despite his fear stood bravely in front of his family who cowered behind him. The boy waited for the blow with his eyes shut tight, but it never came. Instead, a man perhaps even more frightening tackled the primitive beast.  
  
"SABERTOOTH!!" shouted the man with dark, almost blue, hair and a rough look.  
  
"Wolverine, I'm glad to see you but I really don't have the time to play right now" said Sabertooth, though he crouched low preparing to attack.  
  
Snick The children let out a cry of fear as the man who had become their defender, a knight in shining armor, shot cold metal claws out of his knuckles. No blood. Young Remy smiled despite the situation, 'He's like me.'   
  
A battle had begun between this Wolverine and the Sabertooth. A violent battle. Both were greatly skilled in martial combat, and both seemed to possess an immunity to injury. Wolverine charged in with a low growl as Sabertooth jumped up high for an attack. Sabertooth landed just behind Wolverine who swerved around and cut three deep gashes in the monster's side. Sabertooth let out a howl as fresh blood spurted from his wounds.   
  
The beast then lunged for his attacker out of pure anger and was quickly knocked aside. Remy made a mental note to keep composure while fighting to keep the upper hand. Just as Wolverine was diving in, claws first, for his opponent, he just stopped mid air. Remy soon saw the reason. A man, a mutant, stepped out from the shadows. A wave of fury swept through Remy as he recognized him as the one who killed his Mom and chased away his dad. With that wave of fury came a hot red power. A power that at a touch of his fingertips would give them enough time to run. Remy took the chance. He ran for the nearest cardboard box and threw it towards Magneto who floated over to the side. It was the shock wave that got him, but not him alone. Not being able to control his power Remy had overcharged it and so the bricks and wood came flying back at his family. Remy sheltered them but was severely injured himself, but so was Magneto who's leg appeared to be broken and bleeding. Bleeding profusely with labored breathing he turned around to see Sabertooth picking up the man of metal. Magneto smiled at the boy as he limped over towards him. Sabertooth was growling dangerously as he glared at the boy. Magneto extended a hand,  
  
" What an amazing power. Why don't you use it? Join me, I will teac-"  
  
He was interrupted by the barely standing Remy who spit in his face, "Sorry the whole psychotic old man wearing a bucket thing doesn't appeal to me."  
  
This received a hard smack across the stomach with a metal beam. "Gah!" Remy coughed up blood as he clutched his side trying to get up from the ground. He HAD to protect his family.   
  
"Had enough?" Magneto said now floating to Remy.  
  
"Not yet!" Remy yelled as a new found strength weld up with in him as he grabbed a nearby stone, charged it and threw it at the man. It was too fast to dodge and charged just right, The stone lodged itself into Magneto's eye. As blood dripped out the man recoiled and franticly he sent metal in all directions until Sabertooth took out the small stone and went for Remy. Wolverine, now free from Magneto's control, stepped in front of Remy.  
  
"Go on, your master's calling his guide dog" Wolverine said as he revealed his claws once more.  
  
Reluctantly, Sabertooth left guiding Magneto to a metal orb. As soon as they had disappeared into the sky, the wolverine turned to Remy. Sizing him up and down Wolverine looked at him sternly, "What are you doing here kid?"   
  
Remembering the events of the previous week, Remy suddenly felt hot tears swell up in his eyes. It all rushed back to him and as the adrenaline seemed to dissipate, Remy felt the pain full force, and collapsed. As the darkness enveloped himself he silently swore, 'Never again, I will never cry again.' 


	2. Get Away

A young girl sat in the corner of the room, her knees brought up to her chest with her chin resting on them. The rest of the children playing paid her no mind, well, almost all of them. Three girls in the corner of the room started to whisper.  
"Can you believe how many times she's been brought back?" said the one with the curly hair.  
"She looks nice, but she must be defective" a skinny blond piped up.  
"I know, she's been in and out of here, like, 10 times already!" another said.  
"Actually, it's been 13 times," the young girl stood up and walked over to them, her arms crossed and her diffident nature slowly shedding away.  
The girls stopped talking for a moment to stare at the girl in question. She had short auburn hair pulled back with some loose strands framing her face, vivid green eyes and pale skin. This girl really was pretty, but she was also an outcast.  
"Pss, you must really be a handful if no other parent could keep hold of you," it was meant as an insult, but not taken that way.  
"Yeah, Ah'm a regular rascal," the girl said flippantly.  
"Right, well, it's probably because of your freakishly pale skin, or is it that totally fake accent,"  
"Or is it that stupid look that crosses her face all the time,"  
"You know what they say, the outside reflects the inside,"  
The girls laughed for a few moments as the victim of their taunting just stood there, arms crossed not really caring what they said, well, until they crossed the line.  
"You know what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree,"  
"Yeah, her parents were probably too stupid to raise their kid,"  
The young girl balled her hands into fists at her side, "Don't ya even thank about talking about mah parents."  
"Oh, did we hit a soft spot?"  
"Temper, temper,"  
"Probably got that from her drunken father,"  
"Or her slut of a mom,"  
"Probably took her forever to find who the real father was!"  
"Stop talking, just shut up, ya'll, none of ya'll, knew mah parents so just stop talking lahke that!"  
"Like what? We're just saying the truth. Your whore of a mother and drug addict father probably left you on those stone steps out there just as easily as taking out the trash!"  
"Trash! Yeah she is trash. Like mother and father she's just some stinking garbage rotting up the-"  
The girl couldn't finish. The girl who had endured their insults thus far couldn't take it anymore.  
"TAKE BACK WHAT YA SAID ABOUT 'EM!! YA NEVAH KNEW THEM! AND YA'LL DON'T KNOW ME SO DON'T FUCKING TRY TO PLAY LAHKE YOU DO!!"  
By now most of the adults were trying to get through the circle of kids to the fight. The auburn haired one had knocked down two of the girls and was now beating the other one into the ground.  
"YA FUCKING BITCH! DON'T YA EVAH THAHNK YA ARE BETTAH THEN THEM-" The girl was lifted up by two separate adults who were struggling to hold this kicking, screaming child away from the half passed out scared little girl. After about a half hour, the young girl had settled down and now sat quietly, with a defiant look on her face, in the corner.  
"Now Marie-" a young woman began to say to the brown haired girl.  
"I told ya, Ah don't go by that name," Marie did not look happy.  
"Now, now, of course you do. It was the name your first foster parents gave you," the lady said reproachfully."  
Marie scoffed and rolled her eyes, "and we all know how they turned out."  
"Marie, I know you've had some, um, trouble with past fam-"  
"That's the understatement of the century. And don't ya dare call those derange psychopaths family," Marie's eyes started to shine and the last part of her sentence came out hoarse. She turned away and glared at the door.  
"Marie," the lady began again apologetically, "I really am sorry about all that, but they all seemed like respectable members of the society. It was just bad luck is all, we have to keep trying. We'll get you a family don't you worry," she reached her hand over to Marie's who flinched away, "Marie," she practically whispered.  
"Well, what do ya expect?! Those people, if that's what ya choose ta call um, are monsters and Ah'm suppose tah want that?"  
"Just one more Marie. It will be the most important relationship you have all your life- is that what your, your brawl started over? Were they taunting you about your, misfortunate adoptions?"  
Marie stiffened, "naw I just wanted to beet tha shit outta some one, after all Ah had the best teachers."  
"Marie-" the lady began a little unsure.  
"Ya know, just forget it Ah don't care. Sell me tah the highest bidder that comes 'round" with that Marie got up and walked out the door.  
The woman half got out of her chair to call after the girl but shook her head and sat back down leaning her head against the palms of her hands, her arms propped on the table.  
"She's had it tough, huh?" A tall brunette man came in holding some steaming coffee in each hand offering one to the woman sitting down.  
"Huh? Oh yes a terrible time. I don't believe I've seen you around-"  
"Oh, knew here is all," he sat down across from the lady and she could have sworn she's seen his eyes flash yellow for a moment.  
"So what exactly has happened so far?" the man had a weird smirk playing on his face, but the woman just shook it off.  
"A few of her foster parents beat her, molested her, and a couple just locked her away and still more did- well, twisted sick things and-" the woman started to choke up and the man reached a hand over to sooth her, "it's just so wrong, the poor girl's been through so much. I just don't understand how this happens. All of the other adoptions are well, and the social workers choose a lot of potential people for Mike to sort through and choose for each child. I just-" she started to sob into her hands.  
"It will be alright, just relax, it's just bad luck," the man seemed sympathetic but decided to stand up and leave, "I'm sorry I have to get back to work."  
"I understand," the woman trailed off staring into her coffee cup.  
As the man shut the door behind him he made sure no one was watching before he entered another door with the name 'Michael Shovitz' in big black letters. There he shut the door carefully before growing blue scales and red hair. A strange looking woman took his place briefly before she too turned into another person; a man with dark brown hair and a beer belly.  
"Just one more twist of the screw," he whispered under his breath as a small smile started to form on his pudgy face as he pulled out a picture of Marie Leshire.   
It had only been a week since Marie had moved in with her newest foster "father". She had seen woman come and go from his house and every night in her cold basement she covered her ears as best she could from the grotesque sounds of dear old daddy and nameless so and so.  
Tonight Marie had done her usual chores of cleaning, making the meals, and fixing his drinks. She was only 7 years old, and she was mixing drinks for this drunken fool. As she passed him a shot a vodka he grabbed her wrists.  
"Um, mah, mah hand?" Maria stuttered nervously. She didn't like that look in his eyes.  
"What about it" he slurred.  
"Ah- Ah need it back" Maria tried to step away but he pulled her wrist forward catching her off balance.  
"You're a pretty small thing, but you're really pretty," he let go of her wrists and moved to pull back her hair making her scream from the pain of it. "Pipe down, I aint gonna hurt you. Actually, I think you might enjoy it." His hands started roaming and Marie could tell where this would go.  
Marie panicked and in her flustered state she grabbed the vase and broke it over his head. He immediately let go and Marie ran away and up the stairs as fast as she could. Hearing his roaring voice cuss out words she was quite fearful of, she ran down the upstairs hallway to the window. 'Dammit why does tha' damn door have to be right next to his drinking table'. The window was her only escape, but it was a story from the ground. She figured she'd shimmy down the drain pipe, but as she tried to open the window she found it a very difficult. It was rusted shut and not budging a bit.  
Marie then heard the drunken fool yell in a booming, frightening voice, "Where are you Marie! You get your ass down here right now. Don't you make me come up there and get you girl!!"  
Marie made a small noise of fear as she frantically tried to pull up the window. "Come on, come on!" she whispered frantically. It was then she heard her foster father's heavy footsteps pounding on the stairs as he made his way up cursing at her all the while.  
As he reached the top of the stairs Marie felt a new power come along with her fear and she pried the window open with all the strength she had. As she felt the cool rush of air against her face she thought, 'this is it, mommy and daddy, I'll see you soon.' People had thought she had forgotten her real parents. She was left on the orphanage stairs at 3 years old, but she remembered, vividly she remembered. Her father was taking medication for his headaches, but somehow his pain medication had gotten mixed up with another medication that made him go crazy. He shot his wife, son and himself, but left Marie behind. She had no recollection of being dropped of at the orphanage steps so far away from her home in Mississippi, and when they inquired about her family she stayed mute so they figured she had no memory of it. Now as she stepped out onto the narrow window sill, she leapt into the air letting the sky take her to her death. She was in such ecstasy that she didn't hear her foster father's mad dash down the hall to her, or smell his ragged drunken breath, but she did feel his strong arms grab at her mid calves and through her back into the hallway with so much force that on landing she felt her collar bone snap. She did hear him slam down that damn window and she felt his foot connect with her stomach several times.  
He broke 3 ribs and bruised her badly. When she rolled over to huddle into a ball he kicked her back. When she crawled to the stairs to get a hold of the railing to stand he through her down the stairs. Now, bloody and beaten at the bottom of the stairs, she wept. She cursed herself for crying, she hated herself for being so weak. She'd been cut before, scared before, beaten and abused before, but never had she felt such pain.  
As her foster father move down the stairs she leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath and stop crying.  
"There now" he said in an unbelievable calm voice, "look what you made me do. I didn't want to do that but you just wouldn't listen. Now be a good little girl and listen. Do exactly what I say."  
As he leaned down she felt his hand on her skin and cursed him for it. How dare he touch her? How dare any of them touch her?! Humans were disgusting filth, with tainted hearts and cruel minds. There was no good in them, none at all. How dare he think of touching her?! She cursed herself again for her weakness, for her sobbing tears and helpless nature. She cursed this body of hers for not being stronger, and she wished she could take from these pathetic beings that call themselves human, what they had taken from her. She was once happy, she was once loved, but now she was just a rag doll to throw around. 'CURSE THIS SKIN OF MIND FOR BEING SO DAMN DEFENSLESS!!!' As she thought that a terrible pain wracked her body, worse than before. After that beating and all her old wounds reopening, she thought nothing could be worse. She was wrong. It felt as if the whole universe were ripping and tugging at her, yet at the same time she felt horribly connected with it all and its sinister nature. The pain, she couldn't stand all the pain nor the strong pulse that beat inside of her worse than two colliding tectonic plates shake the earth. Then it stopped.  
  
As she looked down she saw her 'father' beaten and broken on the ground. All of what he had done to her was done to him. She still had her marks and maims, oh yes, but after that excruciating experience she hardly noticed. What she did notice, in her wide eyed terror, was that his now sickly pale hand was stuck to her neck. As her face contracted in concentration she let out several sobs and started to shake. Finally, and with a sick sucking sound, his hand was removed and fell to the floor with a dead bang. Dead. He was dead. 'Oh Gawd Ah killed him!' She clutched her head as she screamed out loud to what she thought was an empty house, "AH KILLED HIM!!"  
"He deserved it" Not expecting an answer, Marie was thoroughly stunned when she turned around to see a blue woman staring at her with the most brilliant yellow eyes and cynical smile.  
Marie put her hand to her mouth and the other to her throbbing side, "the devils come ta take mah to hell," she whispered her epiphany as Mystic began to laugh.  
"No dear girl, I am no devil," she bent down and touched her covered shoulder, "those people, those parents who were suppose to love and care for you, they are the devils.  
Marie, partly coming to her senses at the blue woman's touched shrieked and backed away from it, "don't touch mah!!" getting up quickly she winced at her pains.  
"I came here to protect you. My friend, she lives with me, she saw this was going to happen," Mystic began.  
"Saw what was ta come, sounds lahke witch craft" Marie took a couple steps back.  
Mystic advanced a couple steps forward, "No my dear, it wasn't witch craft. We are like you, we are known as mutants."  
"No, no! JUST STAY AWAY FROM MEH!!!" With that Marie ran away, impressively ignoring the pain this was causing throughout her body. As she ran down the black, darks street she swore to herself, 'no, nevah again will Ah cry lahke this. Ah will nevah feel again. Ah will nevah let anyone hurt mah and AH WILL NOT CRY!!' 


	3. At First We Meet

A young man with wild brown hair ran through the park. His red on black eyes were a feature always getting him into trouble, and right now he was being followed by two teenage boys who were both very muscular.  
"Come here freak!" one called. Remy turned a corner in the park. He soon found himself near a cave in a mossy area. It looked completely abandoned.  
'Oh great job Remy, why not pick the place where no one will hear you call for help if you need it' Remy thought sarcastically. He stopped and turned around to see his pursuers. The two boys were panting and out of breath whereas Remy stood calm and tall, a devilish grin spread on his face as his eyes lit up just a little bit. 'Easy' he thought, but this would prove to be everything but, easy.  
"What's with the smile freak?!" The blonde one with the varsity letter pinned to his jacket shouted.  
"Oh, moi? Remy just t'inks its funny dat it takes two of you ta take on one lil boy." "WHY YOU-" One started dangerously towards him but was stopped by his comrade.  
"Hey wait a sec Kyle," the boy pulled out a small hand gun from inside his jacket pocket, Remy's eyes widened.  
Kyle took the gun and switched off the safety,"Not so tough now kid huh? Don't move and I won't shoot. Jeff, go get him."  
"What? Why me?" Jeff complained not daring to go anywhere near the demon eyed child. Remy's smile widened and his eyes relaxed, he doubted they'd ever seen that gun before today, let alone know how to use it.  
"'Cause I got the gun. NOW DO IT!" Kyle demanded of the younger brunette.  
  
Jeff cursed under his breathe and started towards Remy. Remy looked from Jeff to Kyle with a smirk, that is, until he saw that maybe it wasn't such a good thing these two punks didn't know how to use a gun. Kyle's hands were shaking terribly when the gun trigger pulled back. "What the-" Kyle began but was stopped by the two shots that fired without his voluntary action. "Oh, God!" Kyle whispered as Jeff fell.  
Remy just stood wide-eyed, 'He's here, he's got to be, Magneto'. Remy searched his surroundings and caught a small glimpse of a metal orb floating away.  
Kyle looked towards him, "YOU! YOU DID THIS DIDN'T YOU?! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Kyle then started firing widely in Remy's direction. Lucky for Remy, this kid didn't have the slightest idea of aim either. When he heard the hollow click of the gun over and over, he knew his attacker was out of ammunition. It was safe for him to get away, so he thought. As soon as Remy turned around, there stood a young woman with golden hair and deep blue eyes hidden underneath a black mask.  
"Why hello there young demon" the young teen mocked. She was dressed in the strangest clothes; a tight fitting black skirt and a long sleeved blue-plether top that showed her mid-drift and clevage in a dangerously low V. The shirt matched her long blue boots that went up to her mid thighs. Wasting no time, Remy charged a boulder near by and with the energy created, launched it toward the newcomer. The woman caught the huge rock and didn't even flinch as it exploded. The sharp shards that would have torn any normal man's skin apart, bounced off her and broke into a thousand tiny pieces.  
Seeing one exceptionally large dagger of a rock fly off the woman he followed it with his eyes as it landed in the neck of a screaming Kyle. Remy jumped as the young delinquent struggled to gain breath from a wind pipe now impaled by cold hard stone.  
Turning toward the smirking woman with a look of pure hate, Remy reminded himself over and over, 'don't get angry, stay clam, just don't get angry'.  
Then she spoke in her shrill voice that at first had sounded almost sweet. Now her voice was as rough as sandpaper and Remy was reminded of shrieking crows, "I'm here to take you to Mr. Magneto. Wanna come willingly, or maybe-" she picked Remy up by his hair and drew up a knife to his throat, "you're the stubborn type..." The woman smiled at Remy's look of horror. "So, your going to be a good little boy an-" suddenly the woman's eyes went wide and she dropped Remy who landed with a thud on the cold ground. Her hands groped the air and then her back as Remy saw a small hand come up to the woman's face. That small pale hand seemed to pulsate as the woman screamed.  
Suddenly without warning, the blonde flew high. Remy's eyes shot upward as he tried to stand, his scalp hurt and his leg felt broken. He watched as the woman flew higher and high, slower and slower. Her struggling eventually stopped and it seemed as if the two girls were suspended in the air. Then they began to plummet. Like a shooting bullet, the two came down. Remy could see the girl, barely conscious clinging still to the flesh of the woman. The blonde landed face down in the dirt, the young girl lay lifeless on top of her.  
Running over to the girls side, Remy lifted his savior's head to find a beautiful young girl with long brown hair. "Angelique" he said noticing her ethereal appearance.  
Just as he was about to touch her neck to feel for a pulse, her eyes shot open wide. Without much thought she pushed Remy away. He flew about ten feet into a tree. "Oh mah God! Ah'm so sorry, Ah really didn't mean ta. Ah-Ah" The girl struggled for words.  
"S'okay. Dunno your own strength ah?" Remy said falling from the tree but struggling with his legs.  
"Ah'm so sorry. Are yah all right?" The girl looked with intense green eyes towards demonic red ones.  
"Ya. What about you? 100 foot drop don't seem like any cake walk cherie." Remy limped towards her rubbing the back of his head.  
"Ah," she looked up at Remy like she was about to cry but that was quickly replaced by a look of determination, "Ah've broken mah leg Ah think, and Ah can't move mah wrist." Remy came over to were she was sitting and reached for her wrist but she flinched away.  
"I am not going to hurt you, cherie" he paused, "what's your name?"  
"Ah'm Mar-" she paused and looked harshly at the ground.  
"No name huh? And all alone in the woods, kicking invincible ladies butts. Maybe I should call you Rogue."  
The girl perked up at this, "Rogue, a little rascal..." suddenly they both burst out laughing. The laughter died quickly though, as laughter does with such desolate surroundings.  
"I have some friends I can call to pick us up and get our wounds treated" Remy explained as he took out a long rectangular object from his pocket and pressed a X button on top (A/N: think communication device Jean gave Rogue), "They should be here any minute." A reflective silence followed.  
"Who was she?" Rogue asked and after a pause added, "And who are you?"  
"The name's Remy. I don't know who the femme was, but I'm certain she wasn't good."  
"So, why was she threat'ning yah?" Rogue's eyes stirred with curiosity.  
"Well, I t'ink I attracted ta much attention wit' does guys. Dey had a lot o' money so I tried to lure them ta knock um unconscious and get some money.... That was stupid, I got um both killed," Suddenly looking very sad he turned away.  
After a pause Rogue spoke up, "It was those guys' fault. Running after a kid half their age just 'cause ya're a mutant. They mighta killed ya with that gun. Ya took a mighty big risk ta get some money of all thangs."  
"Hey, wat's life fun for if you don' take risks once in a while? I say life 's a gamble, and I'm betting it all." Rouge cocked her head to the side signaling him to continue. "Well, the way I see it, life requires some risks. Like, like a game of chess. When the game begins, no matter how good the player is, there is always some sacrifices he has to make, like throwing a pawn away to capture a queen. If I don't make that sacrifice, the queen will escape, and attack later putting the king in a checkmate, causing me to lose. I'm against a world of darkness, and instead of becoming its pawn, I'm going to defeat it!"  
Rogue laughed causing Remy to blush slightly, "Then Ah'm gonna call you Gambit. Opening your game of life by bettin' it all!" Once more the two laughed, and their laughter echoed around them.  
Gambit turned to Rogue, who by now was softly giggling, "I think she might have killed me if ya didn't show up. You saved my life."  
Rogue blushed, "Yeah, but I took hers..." The happy mood diminished, and in the rustling of a tree, a raven flew from its watching post and flew away with a shrill cry.  
"Wha-?" Remy started to say but at a rustling in some bushes he turned away.  
A voice came a little ways away calling, "Remy, where the hel-ck are ya!" By the gruff voice and the cussing cover up, Remy knew it was Logan.  
"HEY WOLVERINE! OVER THIS WAY!" Remy shouted. Smiling he looked back for Rogue, who wasn't there anymore. He noticed some tracks leading into the cave. There he heard some rustling. "Rouge?" Remy called. The rustling stopped just about as Wolverine reached the clearing where Remy was.  
"Hey, bub, nice way to pick the middle of nowhere. What's up? You got Xavier and the team all dressed up ready to fight som-" Wolverine stopped as he saw the three bodies sprawled across the ground, two with puncture wounds, and the other just sitting there as if she could get up any moment from a deep sleep, but Wolverine couldn't hear her heartbeat or the sound of even a soft breathe. "What happened kid?" Wolverine turned solemnly to Remy.  
"Well, it was an ambush by one of Magneto's people, and-well Rogue can tell you more of what happened," Remy turned back to the cave, "Rouge, come on out already! I know your in there!" Remy called.  
Suddenly a small figure with a backpack much too large for her darted out. Remy saw her green eyes flash by and recognized Rogue. Reaching out to stop her, Remy was beat by Wolverine who reached his uncovered hand out to Rogue's uncovered wrist.  
"Hey kid-" Wolverine had a reaction much like the blonde's. His head shot back as his eye's widened, and Rogue screamed as a white line started to form in the front of her hair. Remy suddenly realized that it hadn't been just the scantly clad "masked" woman who let out a blood curdling scream, but also Rogue. It must have hurt her tremendously as well, but now with more strength, Rogue pried her arm from Wolverine, who then flopped unconscious on the ground. Shaking, Rogue backed away.  
Remy fell to Wolverine's side, "Wolfie, come on you grouch WAKE UP! Come on open your eyes! Jokes over!" He then looked up to Rogue who had just stumbled backwards over a fallen branch.  
She was muttering under her breath, "AH-ah didn' mean ta, Ah jus' Ah just- Ah"  
"Rogue, what did you do, what- what did you do to Wolver-" Remy stopped at her wild look of horror. She had kept repeating over and over that she hadn't meant to.  
"Rogue, Rogue listen to me, calm down Cherie!" Rogue stopped for a moment and look up at Remy, her green eyes glistening but shedding no tears.  
"Ah'm sorry" she whispered. Remy watched as she turned and ran. He didn't hear the other X Men approaching, or their screams and shouts at the dead bodies and Wolverine unconscious one. He only heard Rogue running away from him. 


	4. Acceptance

"Rogue! We need you up in the conference room right away! Mystic's consort has shown up!" A short girl, about 15 with medium length blue hair shouted to Rogue, a 15 year old mutant of extraordinary power.  
  
Rogue wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had been working out in the gym training her powers in the gravitation room which simulated the power a psychic might have. The point was to improve her ability to fly and move under the strain of telekinetic power. "Yah've gotta beh kiddin' meh!" She ran to grab her towel and dab off her forehead, "What happen ta having tha meetin' on Saturday?!"  
  
"I dunno, there being spontaneous or something," the girl formed a thick cube of water and with great concentration, wrapped it in thin sheets around Rogue who, still dressed, washed off her hair. They had done this routine before when Rogue was in a hurry to go to a meeting concerning the money their old benefactor had supplied them with. Rogue was always present at all the meetings. She was the pride of the Mystic Misfits as it was lamely called by the newbies. "Karen!" Rogue gurgled through the water when she needed to breathe. The girl gasped and immediately the water vanished.  
  
"Sorry sorry!" the girl cried as Rogue wrapped the towel around her hair and ran to the bathroom across the way to blow it dry. Karen went to her room and came back with the dark makeup Rogue liked to wear. After all, here, whatever Rogue did or wore became the new fad. Naturally everyone (meaning the non-elites and cross dressing men) has the kind of make up she wore when she did wear it. It just wasn't considered fashionable otherwise. She was the icon around here. Always composed and quiet, reserved but bold, kind but disciplined. Just the right mix really, she was what every misfit aspired to be. She was tough, she was a rogue.  
  
When Karen got to Rogue with the makeup, Rogue's hair was blown dry, straightened and pulled into a claw. "Forget the makeup Marine," Rogue waved off her with a hand, "It's too late, damn why did they have to come so soon?"  
  
"I dunno," began Karen or Marine as she was usually called by Rogue, "but there's one really sexy brunette that looks dange-"  
  
"Well, we'd better get a move on," Rogue interrupted, she wasn't one for idle chat, usually anyway. Soon she grabbed Karen by the wrist and took to the air. There she had to hold Karen by her stomach to pass through the narrow halls. Karen loved flying, and Rogue was so good at it! All her training had paid off, Karen only whished that Rogue would take her to the ocean and allow her to glide above the surface of the shimmering waves, but, like previously stated, Rogue wasn't one for idleness.  
  
Soon they reached the main hall and Rogue let Karen down. Voices were heard from the doors beyond and Rogue boldly walked over in two strides and opened them wide and stepped in. Karen soon followed, a bit shy and afraid for what her entrance must look like coming after the beautiful Rogue. She fumbled in shutting the doors behind her, ashamed to call herself one of the elite.  
  
"Oh, Rogue, so you decide to join us?" Mystic directed the men in front of her and the 7 other elite, to Rogue. She was wearing black slacks, a red t- shirt and a black blazer. Her hair a bit wind blown, she didn't look strict, or loose, she just looked, cool.  
  
"Sorry, Mrs. Darkholme," Rogue said bowing a bit. This was how she always addressed Mystic in the presence of higher ups. Never Mystic, never informal, and never ever 'mother' after all, after all those adoption homes, Rogue didn't believe in the word, she didn't believe in anything to do with family.  
  
"That's alright Rogue, but you've kept our guests waiting," Mystic gave a pointed look at Rogue.  
  
'Waiting? Why the hell would they be waiting for meh?' Rogue thought.  
  
Seeing the confusion on her face, the man relatively young looking (about 30) with white hair, stepped forward and began, "I wanted to make sure my money being spent here has been an investment. Just a demonstration of one of Mystic's elite is all I'm looking for." He finished with a calm repressed smile. His elites that he brought with him seemed rather, well, stupid. The red head was slouched with terrible posture, not at all suitable for this sort of event, with a grin and eyes the seemed plastered on Rogue's curves. The hairy monkey thing with fangs was way out of place, and the white haired demon who looked so much like the tall man seemed so fidgety like he couldn't keep still. At least the tall Russian guy looked reasonably composed; actually, if he wasn't clad in a tacky silver blazer, which went terrible with his black pants and red shirt, he was completely the type of elite you'd expect from Mystic's group. And then there was Derek, one who had graduated from Mystics elite when Rogue was 12. He had brown hair and green eyes. He could control plant growth, which sounds lame, but is really quite effective.  
  
"Alright, well, what should you like for me to do first?" Rogue tried to control her language and accent as much as possible to fit in. She'd gotten good at the northern style of talk, as well as knowing five other languages including Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, and French the latter of which her real family had taught her when she was little and she continued in her latter years. It always made her feel comfortable and, it just gave her an extreme feeling of peace.  
  
"Hmm, twirl around a bi-" the red head started but a thin sheet of metal soon wrapped around his mouth like it were clay and the white haired man scolded, "Pyro, you keep your mouth closed!"  
  
'So his names pyro, fire, an' this guy can control metal, hmm' Rogue thought  
  
"Magneto, perhaps we should go to the demonstration room-" Mystic began  
  
"No, right here is fine. Colossus." Magneto instructed the big Russian forward. His body slowly began to turn into metal and his shirt ripped and his iron muscles bulged. A soft sigh was heard from the other 2 girls of the elite.  
  
Rogue waited until Colossus was ready. Before anything could be said Rogue had to dodge a burst of fire that came her way in the shape of a horse. This was soon extinguished by Marine who came to stand by Rogue glaring at pyro who held in his hands two propane pouches.  
  
"MARINE!" Mystic boomed, "SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT IT IS ROGUE'S FIGHT!"  
  
Karen stood stiff but didn't moved, "Two against one isn't fair, mam!" Karen was touched lightly on the shoulder by Rogue's hand as Rogue used her power to slowly drain energy from her.  
  
"It's alright sugah, Ah'll beh fahne," Rogue's southern accent calmed down Karen who was relaxed by it, that and she was slightly tired by Rogue's slow energy drain, along with the use of her powers.  
  
"Righ-right" Karen stammered and blushed as she went and slumped down on the couch looking at her feet like a child in time out.  
  
"Telepathy as well?" Magneto asked.  
  
"No, just a slow energy drain-" Mystic began.  
  
"She has that good a control on her powers?" Magneto asked looking very happy.  
  
"Well, not quite, she may at times have little bouts of a power surge once in a while."  
  
Magneto's smile faded and he signaled his team to began again. Even though he never looked at the others (Derek, Sabertooth,Quicksilver) Rogue knew they were going to be the 'surprise' elements in the test.  
  
CColossus stood and reached out to hit Rogue, he was easily dodged.  
  
"Yah're naught tryin' sugah. No need ta hold back!" She said as she ran past him and to the wall where she ran up it a ways, pushed off, and flipped over Colossus' head to kick him in the stomach and send him back flying. Of course all this movement wasn't needed, but the financial supporters usually wanted a show. Colossus had been propelled across the room and into the wall and Rogue could practically see Mystic cringe at her ruined wall. Rogue smiled. This was going to be fun.  
  
Flames surrounded her and tried to close in on her. She jumped up and flew to the ceiling where she got her bearings. Seeing Pyro laugh manically as he changed the flames into a giant hawk, Rogue decided to laugh on the inside. The other two, the beast and the albino, were protectively close to Pyro, ready to jump at Rogue at a close up attack, while Colossus positioned himself a little ways away to gather momentum to ram her over if she got close to the ground. Only Derek was positioned inconspicuously, not giving away any information or plan. Derek, the Thorn.  
  
'How bout some cat and mouse boys?' Rogue thought as the hawk came a little too close to where she was. She flew down towards Pyro, as beast and albino crouched down ready to jump and Colossus started to run full speed to where she was, Rogue turned sharply left and flew across the ground. Colossus stopped abruptly and changed direction to where Rogue and the fire hawk were.  
  
He penetrated through the fire, as the fire didn't affect his metal clad self. To his shock, Rogue was waiting for him in the fire hawk, and she wasn't burning!  
  
"What the-" He began, before she shot like a bullet after him and threw many punches and kicks his way. She wasn't super strong as the reports had said, but she knew where to hit and how to kick. She was deadly precise and soon, with a last mighty blow, Colossus was knocked out.  
  
Outside the hawk Pyro was laughing, "I got the shelia! Man that was so eas- !" His voice failed and his smile vanished as steam began to rise and soon there was nothing left of Pyro's fire hawk but a cloud of smoke that swirled and seemed to form around the shape of an emerging figure as wings. The figure opened her eyes, and the green seemed the only light in all the world. It was terrifying as Rogue emerge unharmed and steaming, dragging an unconscious Colossus behind her with his metal fast receding. All the members seemed shocked, other than Thorn who simply smiled, and Magneto who seemed excited beyond anything in the world and laughed. She had been very clever to use her power obtained from Karen to create a water wrap around herself as protection against the fire  
  
Rogue threw Colossus' body at the beast while she ran after pyro.  
  
While the beast was distracted with the large Russian being hurtled at him, Pyro frantically began to spurt fire from his hands and launch it towards Rogue who knocked it away with one swing of her newly created water sword. Two swings, Three swings, "AHHHHH!" Pyro cried out as Rogue drown him in the water that began in the form of her sword, but that form slowly transformed into pure water fountains from the palms of her hands. Suddenly the albino came from behind Rogue and grabbed her by the waist. She was a little surprised by his speed and strength for such a puny guy, but she had seen his movement around her while she was busy flying full speed at Pyro. He had been a coward and run at first, but then he summed up his danger and used his lightening fast speed to come at Rogue.  
  
"Sugah, didn't thay tell ya meh real powah?" Rogue asked as she enjoyed the free ride in the speed demon's arms. The wind felt great after being stuck in an inferno of hell fire.  
  
"Wha-" he began but stopped as his eyes rolled back when Rouge touched his arm for his power. An unexpected burst of confusing emotions and memories came though and Rogue cringed and gasped quickly flying away from who she now knew was quicksilver.  
  
Quickly recovering and hiding the pain she felt, Rogue used her newly acquired speed against him. She ran full force towards him and knocked him out with one strike. Then she went for the feral beast known to Quicksilver as Sabertooth. He snarled and cried out getting ready for her to come, but Rogue had to dodge quickly as Thorn launched from underneath her feet, through the floorboards, thorny vines of every kind. The floor where they had burst through was a mess and Rogue was amazed as she looked down to where there lay an empty, seemingly endless hole that had torn through many basements.  
  
"Mah, gawd Thorn, ya sure improved yah powah huh?" Rogue floated above the hole, deftly avoiding the vines that he was just as carelessly wiping around in sporadic, careless function.  
  
Thorn blew her a kiss and winked, "anything for my lil Rogue."  
  
Rogue boiled with anger and was just about to go in for a kill of a certain thorn in her side when  
  
"That's enough now," Magneto was smiling from ear to ear as Rogue landed composed, straight backed, and glaring with wind swirling around her from Quicksilver running past her to the protective side of his father. "Yes, I am more than impressed with your power," he glanced at Mystic, "Your mother here-" Rogue grew ridged and Magneto smiled bemused, "I mean, Mystic here, has offered your services to us. She wants you to continue living here, but you will join some others and work for me as-"  
  
"Ah'm sorry sir," Rogue interrupted, "but the reason I perform so well is because I train so well and I train so well so that I can be accepted into your team ta-"  
  
"Well, then there should be no problem, you'll be working with my best and commanding you're elites-"Magneto interrupted.  
  
"Yes, sir. However I want to join you for the freedom. To live on my own and be paid for my work." Rogue looked to Mystic who was glaring at her. 'Ya wanta be my motha ya shoulda acted lahke one Mrs. Darkholme' and she remembered the woman who had seemed so kind, who had offered her a life of happiness in the palm of her hand. She had taken that woman's hand, along with the life she know lived. She had seen that same kind woman transform into a beautiful but deadly assassin. The same woman who beat her, betrayed her, and used her, just like everyone else.  
  
Magneto stifled a laugh, "Why of course Rogue, we won't stop you from that. I think you'll find the accommodations I give my soldiers, adequate" He said the word carefully and Rogue knew the settings she would find herself in soon would be more that just 'adequate'. "All you do is work for us." He didn't give another thought to Mystic's input on this. None whatsoever. Rogue smiled  
  
"Then we seem to have an agreement," She reached out and extended her hand.  
  
Magneto raised an eyebrow to her, "You're power?"  
  
Rogue sighed at his ignorance and gave a small smile, "Sir, Ah've worked very hard for quite some time with some psychics and trainers to learn to control my powers, on what comes in, what goes out, and what, where and how I absorb the powers of others. Even now I am learning to recall or store the powers of previously acquired powers."  
  
"Very impressive," Magneto extended his hand and shook Rogue's emphatically, "My name is Eric but you will address me formally as Magneto." The not-so-real cough Flame-boy made informed Rogue that they had not used this name, but rather a quaint epitaph of some sort. "This is Pyro otherwise known as John, Colossus who's real name is Piotr,  
  
Sabertooth who's real name is Victor," at a growl from the feral looking man Magneto cleared his voice and corrected, "Creed, Thorn, with whom I believe you are previously acquainted with, and my son Pietro Maximov codenamed Quicksilver."  
  
Rogue felt like laughing at the shape they were all in, apposed to Thorn, Sabertooth and Magneto they were all beat up. She laughed on the inside.  
  
"Pleasure ta meet ya'll" Rogue smiled, "I betta go pack mah stuff. What time or place should I meet ya'll at?"  
  
"Well, we could have one of our members pick you up," Magneto controlled a strip of metal to Pyro's mouth. Colossus seemed to be stepping forward but it was Thorn who answered the call to arms.  
  
"It would be my pleasure to escort such a beautiful lady to her new home."  
  
"Which is where exactly?" Snapped Mystic.  
  
Rogue answered quickly, "Well, I suppose it wouldn't have to be anything extravagant, just not an apartment with all the fr'aky neighbors who gossip all tha time about gawd knows what."  
  
"I know of a place," said Thorn, "it would be perfect for her."  
  
Rogue disliked all this performing for them and doing this and that, and looking just a certain way, but she absolutely hated people making decisions for her, and Thorn gushing over her like this like she was some wife of his to control. But she held her tongue; it would do her no good to speak up. She'd look like a useless twit. So she staid silent. She was leaving Mystic, and therefore she could leave her past behind. Before her lay her future and her revenge. 


End file.
